Debt Makes You Wilder
by MissHikaHaru
Summary: We all know how Haruhi broke the vase, and was eventually named a Host. But that was when she was dressed as a boy, right? What if she had worn a dress? The whole plot would be completely thrown off course, wouldn't it? It doesn't help that love's twists and turns make it that much more difficult, turning Haruhi's once docile existence into the wildest ride of her life.


**In this story Haruhi is already a fairly tough girl, unashamed of a bit of violence, but along the way she grows steadily stronger and braver as time progresses, with the help of a certain someone. And, as with 'Memories of Ouran', I have supplied her with the middle name 'Utsukushi', meaning 'beauty'. I have also used part of the beginning of MoO, because it's the same scenario with a different plotline.**

* * *

The plaque overhead proclaimed 'Music Room 3'.

"Huh, an abandoned music room…?" I guessed, looking back over my shoulder. I couldn't hear anything from inside. "I guess this is the place for me to study…" I fixed my skirts, the stupid red bow around my neck, and half-heartedly patted my poorly cropped head; I subconsciously vowed never to touch a pair of scissors again. I reached for the handle, and pushed the door open slowly. I peered inside, looking around. There were a few pedestals; some expensive looking ornaments perched on them, and lots of flowers. I took a step forward, but then faltered. The door swung shut behind me.

"Welcome," said a boy with sleek, curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was smiling warmly, ensconced in a plush throne-like armchair. Behind him and on either side were five other boys. Two I presumed to be twins; on account of their unerringly identical features. They had ruffled tawny hair, bottle green eyes and mischievous smiles on their matching faces. The only visible difference was the parting of their tousled hair.

The bespectacled boy standing directly behind the one on the chair was tall and thin, with pale skin and raven hair. His eyes were dark grey, almost black. Beside him was another black haired boy, but even taller, with pale skin and a silent, stony face. He looked at least six feet tall. Next to him was the boy I found strangest of all. He was small. Tiny. He looked only about nine, and yet sported the SeniorSchool uniform. He had big brown eyes and curly blonde hair, his cheeks full and rosy. His little face was bright with a beam of wide delight, his eyes shining.

I had found the Host Club, although I did not know it yet. My eyes were wide, and I was fumbling for the door handle behind my back. After they looked at me for a moment, their faces almost seemed to fall with disappointment.

"Oh, it's just her," the twins said, speaking with perfect synchronization. I thought I recognized them, as I stood there in shocked silence, straightening my skirt. The Hitatchin twins, I think they were. Oh yes, they were in my class, seated on either side of me. They were very loud, constantly making a mess of every lesson, and they almost always did everything as if they were one person. It was weird, to tell the truth. "I wondered when we'd be seeing your face here." I scowled, and they flashed mean grins. "Even though we can't see it through those ghastly things." I touched my hand to the thick glasses framing my eyes, large and round and old. They obstructed at least half of my face from view, in addition to the wiry, uneven strands of messy chocolate hair.

"You two are so very rude to our first-time guests," the blonde in the chair snapped, getting to his feet and fixing his lilac and black tie. He flashed me a gleaming smile, taking care not to let his glittering blue eyes linger on my frayed, non-regulation, too-poor-to-afford-the-uniform dress. It was ghastly to say the least, a lurid yellow that was twice as terrible as the genuine article for Ouran girls. With the way he kept on beaming at me, as if I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, I knew it must have been completely false. In his mind he must have been wanting to stab out his own eyes.

"First and last-time guest," I said shortly, turning away to open the door. "I'm leaving. All I wanted was to study an—"

"You're the honour student girl, aren't you?" I heard a cool voice ask, and I turned to see the raven-haired bespectacled one looking me up and down with his steel eyes. His tall blonde friend seemed instantly more interested, simply staring at me through eyes as wide as a puppy's. "Hikaru, Kaoru, she's in your class, isn't she?"

"Oh, yeah," the twins said, exchanging knowledgeable glances, before glowering and pointing at me in perfect unison. "_She's_ the one who forced us to sit apart,"

"_I_ didn't force you," I interjected, "The teacher put me ther—"

"Your name's something weird," the twin on the right said, "Hirahu Fudgytoka, wasn't it?" I stared at him.

"No, Hikaru, that isn't it," the twin on the left said, "She's clearly called Huriha Smudgyocra."

"Actually, it's—" They both interrupted me.

"Haruhi Budgiepoker?"

"Yes—wait, what?"

"Ugly smoker?"

"Oh, shut up already! It's Fuji—"

"Gloomy stroker?"

"_**Fujioka!**_" I shouted, balling my fists and dropping my books to the floor with numerous loud thuds. They stopped, all eyes fixed on me. I was panting with rage, irritation searing through me; _I didn't have the time for this!_ I thrust out my arm, jabbing a finger their direction. "My name is Haruhi Utsukushi Fujioka, and I suggest you keep it in your memory before I knock it in there!" I brandished my fist, fighting to keep from tumbling into an insane spiral of wrath. It had happened before, as I painfully recalled, and I'd broken more than enough bones; mostly by accident. _Mostly_. The truth was, I was just too strong for my own good, and back when I had longer hair so many boys would hit on me unwantedly, I just couldn't be bothered with them anymore.

Just out the very corner of my eye I saw the tallest boy with black hair tilt his head, just very slightly. I fixed my eyes on him, and noticed that his thin lip was curled in just the smallest of half-smiles. His dark gaze shifted a little around my face, and it looked for just a moment as if he wanted to say something. He didn't. Instead, the silence was broken by the twins bursting into laughter. Everybody, myself included, had their eyes drawn to them as they clutched at one another and cackled madly.

"Utsukushi!?" they bawled, slipping to their knees and beating their fists repeatedly on the sleek floorboards. "What a lie! What a stupid, _stupid_ lie! Gyhahahahahahaaa!" There was a sharp intake of breath, and those watching reverted their gaze to me; my mouth hung slightly open, lip trembling just a bit. The two red-headed jerks were rolling about now, knocking into one another as they flailed their legs wildly. "Just _look_ at her! That's the most mis-matched name-set I've ever heard!" I bowed my head, but my hair was no longer long enough to mask my face. I gripped painfully at my wrist, shoulders rather hunched. Even though I knew it was true – me in my huge glasses, shoddy attempt to create my own uniform, large clunking boots, scratches on my hands and arms and legs, hair cropped terribly so it hung like the fur on a dog dragged backwards through several thorny hedges and a frame so petit that if it weren't for the dress I could well be mistaken for a boy – that I was as far from beautiful as they came, despite it all, my chest hurt like someone had finally punched me back. "What sort of idiot gave her _that _name!?"

I willed myself not to hear them, instead bending to my knees and gathering up my fallen books. I tried my hardest to block them out, to focus only on a high-pitched static hum to drown out their raucous insults. _What would she say if you lost it, Haru? She'd be so disappointed… You're so much better than this. Just walk away._ I straightened up, ignoring the pained looks of the silent Hosts who didn't find it funny in the slightest; the taller blonde was watching me with a horrible expression, knowing he should say something, but he couldn't think what; the bespectacled boy was scribbling furiously in a little black book, looking up at me every split-second or so; the smaller boy with golden curls looked closer to tears than I did, clutching tight to the long legs of the tallest boy – his face was cold once more, the smile quite vanished from history. Just as I reached for the handle to leave, one of the twins spoke from behind me.

"You know, Kaoru," So it was Hikaru. "I bet it was her dim-wit mother."

It was like a steam engine was rolling across the tracks in my veins, powered by red hot anger instead of coal; I instantly froze, my hand hovering a few trembling inches from the golden handle. Slowly it clenched into a fist, gripping so tightly to his imaginary neck that my knuckles burned white. My eyes were dilated in fury, quivering within my skull as my breaths shuddered like an enraged buffalo. I turned my head, glowering at his over my shoulder; he looked back impertinently, grinning maliciously. I bared my teeth.

"Yeah, it totally was," Hikaru continued, cocking his head to the side and fixing me with an entertained sort of look_. Do I make you laugh, you jerk? I'm not a toy_… "Mothers always do the stupidest things. You probably wish she'd died and not branded you with such a dumb name; I would."

The engine jumped tracks, bellowing furious steam and screaming its horn within and without me. I whipped about, hurling my books at him with such force they shot straight over his head – he still yelped like a dog and threw himself sideways to avoid being hit – and slammed into the base of a pedestal holding up an antique blue vase; it wobbled dangerously, knocked a little closer to the edge than was comfortable, but remained atop its plinth. In any other situation I would have been screaming in terror that I could have broken something, but instead I was screaming in pure frenzy as I started toward Hikaru; the Hosts were all too dumbfounded to do anything but run to the edges of the room.

The redhead swore obscenely as I threw all of my strength into an extremely powerful kick, before seizing the front of his blazer tightly in my fists – screaming at me to let them at his face, that pretty boy face so many girls seemed to drool after; I saw nothing worth note, only an ugly personality beneath it all. His brother leapt at me to throw me off, but I whipped round so fast with a punch that I sent both him and my glasses flying across the room.

"Nice eyes," Hikaru coughed, still trying to fit the part of a Host. I growled like a wolf in battle, turning back on him with such irate temper in my glare that he was compelled to add, "Okay, not so nice."

"Shut up!" I hissed, pinning him down and squeezing at his throat. Tears pricked my eyes, and I bared my teeth in a grimace to keep them back; it failed. "_Shut up_! You really can't have any idea how wrong you are!" I was crying now, and Hikaru tried to pass this off as weakness to fight back. He didn't get far, however, before I slammed him back against the floor. Footsteps were approaching, but I couldn't tell whose. I didn't care either; _he wasn't going to get away with this!_ "You would cry for months if that ever happened!"

"No, I wouldn't! Y-You don't know me!" he gasped, grappling to seize me, but someone else already had. He stared up at his saviour, the stone-face boy with hair like burnt charcoal. "Mori-senpa—"

"Yes, you would!" I shouted, as I struggled to keep myself from being prised from the boy beneath me; it was a futile attempt, as I was lifted clean into the air as if I were a baby. I kicked my legs madly, fighting against the boy's adamantine grip; he was like a bear trap, he was so strong. I was suspended like a doll with strings at least two feet from the ground, and I spat at Hikaru. I wrenched myself in every way possible, but still I couldn't break away. Tears poured from my eyes, blinding me, as they splashed noiselessly onto the floorboards. "_**My mother died when I was five years old!**_"

Everything went silent, and I finally ceased to struggle. Instead I hung limp in the boy's strong hold, head bowed and tears dripping from my cheeks. All eyes stared at me, mouths hanging open. The little blonde boy really was crying now, and he raced forwards to throw his arms around my dangling legs, sobbing into my skirt. The boy set me gently down, his hand resting in a consoling manner on my shoulder; I turned my head a little to look up at him, his image blurred by the tears obstructing my vision.

"Sorry…" I breathed, shaking him off and stepping away from the blonde boy, stumbling about to find my glasses. "I'll leave... I'm never coming back." Hikaru was still on the floor, propped up on his elbows, chest heaving as he watched me in disbelief; his brother seemed a little more compassionate towards me, but all the same he was fuming. I was all too aware of the dislike radiating from them, and I wished desperately to be able to leave…but I just couldn't find my glasses. No matter where I looked I simply couldn't see them. "Dammit…I'm blind without them…!" Kaoru looked around him, and saw my glasses a few feet away. He crawled over and picked them up; there was a small chip in the glass in one of the large lenses. His breath hissed, and he looked at me. He paused for a long moment, before catching the dark eye of the tallest boy. His stony face conveyed perfectly his message; give them to her.

"Hey, um…H-Haruhi?"

I turned up my head, seeing his vague outline in a blur of blue and orange.

"Here."

He stuffed my glasses into my hand, and I hadn't even considered thanking him before he slipped away to his brother. I guiltily watched as he pulled up his twin, the two walking starting to walk away. I sighed deeply, cricking my neck both ways before putting my cracked glasses back upon my nose. I turned to head for the door, before my foot slid on a page that had fallen from one of my books. With a cry of surprise I stumbled forward, tumbling headfirst into the pedestal holding up the beautiful blue vase. With cold realisation I sensed what was happening before my body could react. I seemed to awaken after a second, and I found my hand snatching through the air at it. My fingertips just brushed one of the golden handles, but then it smashed to the floor with a resolute, deafening _**crash**_. There was silence throughout the room, and I stood there, shaking, simply staring at the thousand shattered pieces of china.

"Nice going, pauper," two voices spoke in synchronization. I turned my head shamefacedly to see all six members of the Host Club staring at me. Mouths hung open in horror. Even the boy with black hair wore a look of subdued alarm.

"Now you've done it, commoner! We were going to sell that Renaissance vase in an upcoming school auction."

"We were going to start the bidding price at eight million yen!"

The number hit me. Eight…million…? Okay, how many thousand was in eight million?

"Er…" my voice was cracking as I straightened up, trying not to connect eyes with any of the Host Club. "I'm going to have to…pay you back…"

"With what?" the twins asked coldly, looking me up and down. "You can't even afford a school uniform." The boy with glasses flipped open his black book again, skimming to a clean page and clicking the nib on a pen.

"So, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?" he asked, surveying me over the top of his glasses. The stunning blonde boy sank slowly back down into his lavish chair, frowning with worry.

"You expect me to find the answer so fast, Kyoya?" he mumbled, fixing his eyes on the floor. "I'm only one man, illustrious as I may be…"

"She should work for it through hard labour," the twin I could tell was Hikaru said, in a very bitter and shrewd voice. "Pay it off through her body, like the commoner slave she really is." MY mouth fell open, and I slipped down to the floor in a heap. I stared up at the ceiling, dazed with horror. _Oh, mom, please forgive me…_

A final tear streaked down my cheek.

_I'm so sorry…_

"I suppose the Host Club could use a dog, or something like that?" Tamaki said, thinking aloud. _A dog?_ "You know, to do all our shopping for us and to make tea and take the blame should problems arise."

"I like that idea," the twins said, though it was clear one voice stuck out louder.

"Haruhi Fujioka!" Tamaki called, rising to his feet and pointing a well-manicured hand at me. "You will become the Host Club's little puppy, and will wait on our every beck and call!" My heart slowly sank. To think that, a few short hours ago, I was a reasonably well-respected honour student; and now I was a slave dog to a bunch of idiots. I sighed deeply.

"Hey," a low voice said, and I looked round as I felt a hand on my shoulder. The stoic black-haired boy was crouched beside me, eyes softer than his straight face conveyed. "It'll be okay. They're idiots, but they mean well."

"I highly doubt that," I muttered darkly, shooting a furtive glower in the direction of the twins. "I share _every_ class with them as well…"

"You don't know what they've been through."

"I don't think I _want _to." I paused for a moment, before letting a small smile come to my lips. "Thank you for stopping me; mom always said violence was never the answer. She won't be very happy with me."

"Your technique is awful," he said, causing me to grin almost guiltily.

"Thanks a bunch," I replied, before remembering what Hikaru had called him. "M-Mori-senpai," I added quickly. A smile momentarily twitched at his lip, before vanishing. He held out his hand, large and strong, for me to take.

"Takashi."


End file.
